John Farrell: Joel Hanrahan day-to-day with right hamstring soreness, Andrew Bailey to close

Red Sox manager John Farrell said that the recent struggles of closer Joel Hanrahan — who was pulled on Saturday after walking the two hitters he faced in the ninth inning — were related to mechanical issues that have cropped up as a result of soreness in the pitcher’s right hamstring. Farrell said that Hanrahan first experienced the soreness in the second game of the season in New York, and that he’s been receiving treatment for it.

While the issue had been characterized as “manageable,” on Saturday, Farrell said, the issue had a clear impact on the closer’s ability to throw strikes.

“It’s a manageable situation but it’s clearly had some effect on his ability to repeat his delivery. It’s something he felt in his second outing in New York. He’s been getting treatment on it the past week,” Farrell told reporters. “So, yesterday when we spoke about, is this mechanical, clearly the right hamstring soreness is in the back of his mind and in looking at some video again this morning, it looks like his right leg is collapsing a little bit that’s causing him to work uphill or a little more side to side and not have that same effectiveness. So, he’s day-to-day right now. That’s where he’s at right now.”

Farrell said that the team will look to avoid using Hanrahan for the next couple of days. For now, the team is hopeful that the injury will not require a stint on the disabled list, though Farrell did mention that the workload of the starting rotation over the coming days could impact that decision.

Asked if Hanrahan might see action in something other than save situations in order to make sure that his mechanics are back restored, Farrell suggested that a decision on usage necessarily would follow a decision on game-readiness.

“We’ve got to let this settle down first before we get him back to game activity,” said the manager. “What that game activity is, that’s to be determined.”

Hanrahan is 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA. He’s walked five and allowed three homers in 4 2/3 innings of work this year, though he has converted three of four save opportunities.

In his absence, Andrew Bailey is expected to close for the Red Sox. Bailey has yet to give up a run in 4 1/3 innings this year, having allowed just one hit while striking out seven and walking two.